Meghan Markle reveals ditching social media made her feel 'free'

As one of the most famous and most photographed women on the planet, the Duchess of Sussex is certainly used to being the centre of attention and having the world’s eyes locked on her every move.

But while Meghan seems to have taken the intense demands of royal life in her stride, the former actress revealed that it was a different kind of pressure that she suffered from keenly before her romance with Harry blossomed.

The 37-year-old disclosed that she now feels ‘free’ after closing down her social media accounts and lifestyle blog as she spoke out on the dangers of seeking validation online.

She conversed openly about the hidden perils of Facebook and the like during a chat with members of the public on Bondi Beach, where she and her husband Prince Harry met with others to discuss issues surrounding mental health.

The former actress was previously an avid user of social media, documenting many aspects of her love life, travelling and charity work, and even had her own lifestyle and wellbeing blog called the Tig.

However activity on the accounts of Meghan, who had 1.9 million followers on Instagram, slowly died down in 2017 amid rumours that she was dating Prince Harry.

In fact shortly after news of their romance broke she shared a picture of two bananas hugging with the caption ‘Sleep tight xx’ in what many interpreted it as a symbol of the couples long distance relationship.

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Meghan is pictured placing her hand on her tiny baby bump as she arrived at Sydney’s iconic Bondi on Friday morning

The couple announced their first pregnancy on Monday, the same day they arrived in Australia for their royal tour

Meghan social media shutdown

Before embarking on a social media detox, the Duchess of Sussex was an avid user of Instagram, Twitter and Facebook as well as a regular lifestyle blogger.

However, Royal watchers were alerted to the growing importance of her relationship with Harry when her social media postings began to trail off in 2017.

Tig

Meghan began posting less and less, and in April 2017 she said her final farewell to her blog Tig, putting the nation on high alert that her relationship with Harry was about to be confirmed.

‘After close to three beautiful years on this adventure with you, it’s time to say goodbye to The Tig,’ she wrote.

The former Suits start went on to thank her followers and contributors for their ongoing support since she started the blog in 2014.

Meghan began posting less and less, and in April 2017 she said her final farewell to her blog Tig, putting the nation on high alert that her relationship with Harry was about to be confirmed.

‘You’ve made my days brighter and filled this experience with so much joy,’ she continued.

‘Keep finding those Tig moments of discovery, keep laughing and taking risks, and keep being “the change you wish to see in the world.”

‘Above all, don’t ever forget your worth – as I’ve told you time and time again: you, my sweet friend, you are enough. Thank you for everything.’

The actress signed the note ‘Xx Meghan Markle’, and a page featuring her letter along with a collage of images is now the only thing left on the site.

Instagram

As her behind the scene shots of her days on the Suits set, holiday photos and suppertime snaps lessened, rumours gathered that her hushed romance with Harry was becoming serious.

Then, a playful image of two bananas smiling and spooning each other, seemingly signifying the closeness of a relationship with another, was shared onto her account – sending royal watchers into overdrive.

A playful image of two bananas smiling and spooning each other, seemingly signifying the closeness of a relationship with another, was shared onto her account – sending royal watchers into overdrive

Meghan’s old Instagram account contained plenty of playful selfies, such as the one pictured

Feeling broody? Meghan is pictured with her two ‘fairy goddaughters’ — their mother is her friend Benita Litt, who helped with her lifestyle website, The Tig

Getting political: Meghan risked nailing her colors to the mast by posting this snap of a protester after the Brexit vote — something the palace would no doubt frown upon

Big event: Meghan marked her spot at the UN where she was giving a talk in 2015. She wrote she was ‘excited’ to be placed close to Hillary Clinton, whose seat was just out of shot

Sense of humor: Meghan thanked loungewear clothing company Lunya for this pair of pajamas — which came in very cheeky packaging that says ‘Good in Bed’

A right-on motto for a very modern woman: Meghan shared one mantra about breaking glass ceilings

Long time ago: This poem — by U.S. poet Tyler Knott Gregson, who is famous for writing Japanese haikus — was posted in 2014… before Meghan even met Harry

Twitter

These days Meghan’s Twitter feed is a far more formal affair, having handed over the reigns to the Palace PR team.

Before that though, she had three million followers and allegedly exchanged direct messages with GMB host Piers Morgan. Sadly for the daytime TV presenter, she ‘ghosted’ him when her relationship with Harry progressed.

Piers revealed the hilarious anecdote while hosting GMB following Kensington Palace’s confirmation that the royal and Meghan were an item.

Now no longer in charge of her Twitter feed, carefully curated snaps of her and Harry attending functions and meeting with well wishers is the norm – while major announcements and statements are also shared via the medium.

Recently their tour of Australia has been documented via the Kensington Palace channel, with meetings

Facebook

In January 2018, Meghan shutdown all of her social media channels, including Facebook, releasing a statement through Kensington Palace which said the 36-year-old was “grateful to everyone who has followed her social media accounts over the years” but had closed them “as she has not used these accounts for some time”.

Duchess Meghan has now revealed she does early-morning yoga to cope with sleeplessness brought on by her pregnancy

The duchess finally closed the blog and her Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts in January ahead of her wedding to Prince Harry to bring her in line with the rest of the royals, whose accounts are run by the social media teams of their household.

Jessina Oakes, 26, of Bondi, revealed how the duchess was incredibly open about her experience online, as the pair chatted on the beach in Sydney during the fourth day of the royals’ tour of Australia.

Jessina said: ‘She said a really beautiful quote. She said “flattery and criticism run through the same filter”. She said it was very freeing that she no longer has social media.’

Meghan, who is expecting her first baby with Prince Harry in the Spring of 2019, also told royal fans who gathered to catch a glimpse of the popular couple on Bondi Beach in Sydney on Thursday how she’s relying on yoga to boost her energy levels.

The Duchess, 37, admitted she’d been awake at 4.30am that morning practising in an effort to combat her tiredness, as she and Harry joined an ‘anti bad vibes’ circle on Australia’s most iconic beach with members of a local surfing community group.

The royal’s mother Doria Ragland is a yoga instructor, and fitness fan Meghan – who was frequently snapped out and about with her yoga mat in the days before she joined The Firm – has previously described the practice as being ‘in her blood’.

Charlotte Connell, 35, who is 23 weeks pregnant, and is the mother of Finn, two, said: ‘Meghan told me that pregnancy was like having jet lag. She said she was up up at 4.30am this morning doing yoga in her room as she couldn’t sleep.

‘It’s a bit of a double whammy for her, she said, as she has both the baby and the jet lag to content with.

‘We both talked about how you feel jet lagged even though you have not travelled anywhere.

‘Even in her jet lag she got up to do yoga this morning at 4.30. Physical activity like yoga and surfing is so good for healing your mind.’

As a TV star based in Toronto presiding over her own lifestyle website, The Tig, then actress Meghan frequently updated her fans on her favourite workouts – revealing she was a fan of Pilates Platinum, the megaformer method founded by her close friend, pilates instructor Heather Dorak.

Her remarks today made clear she intends to keep working out through pregnancy.

Kensington Palace confirmed the Duke and Duchess’ happy news in a statement on Monday, just hours after they touched down in Australia at the start of their first major overseas tour.

The popular couple have been greeted by cheering crowds at all of their engagements to date, including a trip to Bondi Beach on Friday morning where Harry and Meghan joined a circle of colourfully dressed surfers to discuss the importance of being open about mental health battles.

The couple spent around ten minutes listening to the experiences of other members of the group and sharing their own, laughing and putting their arms around each other.

The royal couple visited Macarthur High School on the afternoon of the fourth day of their Australian tour

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle spoke to the high school students about striving for female empowerment

The royals’ attendance to the school was the worst kept secret in town, with students anxiously awaiting their arrival

They were shown student projects, including one where students made boxes of supplies to donate to vulnerable women

Meghan was sympathetic when a student told her about their part-time job, reminiscing on her own first job

The Duke and Duchess were introduced to teenage boys and girls from the In League In Harmony project from the NRL

‘All these people you know of in your neighbourhood, now you know them and you’re united,’ the Duchess told students

They also visited Macarthur Girls High School on the fourth day of their visit to Australia and spoke to teenagers about equality, with the Duchess – who has even put her ‘feminist manifesto’ on the Buckingham Palace website – saying she felt ’emotional’ hearing their passionate views.

Harry, who is now said to identify as a feminist, told the girls he wants men to add their voices to the fight for equality.

‘Men can help as well by getting involved, we have to,’ he said.

‘We need to get men’s voices involved as soon as possible.’

His wife, who has been a long-term advocate for women’s rights, told students that their projects, including making boxes of supplies for women in need, made her proud.

‘You guys all remind me so much of myself when I was growing up,’ she told 14-year-old girls.

‘I went to an all girls school which was incredibly diverse as well.

‘I think being around such empowered young women, it becomes something that you all just grasp onto to understand your world.

‘It’s made you confident, well-spoken. You have an intention set to really do something to change the world, and you have to keep it up.

‘It makes me so emotional. You’re doing really, really good work and I’m so happy that we’re here. We give you our full support.’

The couple’s ‘surprise’ appearance at the school on Friday turned out to be the worst-kept secret on campus.

As Gladys Berejiklian, the Premier of New South Wales, teased them about being overexcited to see her, the teenagers fizzed with anticipation until the Duke and Duchess were finally introduced.

Then, cheers and excited screams filled the air as they walked outside to meet the well-behaved girls, who had been sitting neatly for assembly.

Invited to sit on a park bench in the centre, the couple watched a ballet-inspired dance performance from students to the song ‘Power of Love’ before heading inside for the workshops.

The program aims to unite young people from diverse communities to be ‘advocates for positive change in their communities’

Invited to sit on a park bench, the couple watched a ballet-inspired performance from students to the song ‘Power of Love’

The couple earlier went to Bondi Beach, one of Australia’s most famous landmarks, to meet a local community surfing group known as One Wave.

It was founded by Grant Trebilco who suffered from mental health issues for a decade but felt unable to talk about them.

He was eventually diagnosed as being bi-polar and hospitalised.

When he came out, he said surfing was ‘his saviour’ and he finally felt able to open up to his closest friends, who were incredibly sympathetic to him and also shared issues of their own.

He has now created ‘Fluro Fridays’ where people dress up in fluorescent clothes and go to the beach, with the aim of fostering an atmosphere where others can open up about their own mental health issues.

Harry and Meghan, who was wearing a sleeveless Martin Grant dress with espadrille tie wedges, were both given brightly-coloured ‘leis’ – garlands of flowers – to put round their necks in order to enter into the spirit of things.

Accompanied by Trebilco, they kicked off their shoes on the edge of the beach and walked barefoot to sit in a group with some of the colourfully-dressed surfers.

Among others, Meghan spoke to fellow expectant mother Charlotte, who is pictured with her two-year-old son Finn

Meghan shared with a group of yoga performers she does yoga to stay grounded, while Harry prefers to talk openly

Harry revealed her prefers informal chats about mental illness, hoping to reduce the stigma around them

The couple met with members of a local surfing community called One Wave, which aims to raise awareness for mental health

The community group One Wave aims to raise awareness of mental health and wellbeing, saying it’s a strength to ask for help

The couple spent around ten minutes listening to the experiences of other members of the group and sharing their own

Meghan told them yoga helps ground her and that she tries to find the time to make it part of her daily routine

One Wave founder Grant Trebilco said the couple’s openness about mental health will help people across the globe

Trebilco, 37, of Bondi, said the couple’s openness about mental health would help people around the world.

‘To have the Duke and Duchess down at Fluro Friday helped make mental health visible around the world,’ he said.

‘And it let people know that mental health doesn’t descriminate.

‘One thing that really stood out for me was that Prince Harry said asking for help is not a sign of weakness.

‘It’s a sign of strength.

‘Mental health is invisible. You can’t see when people are struggling.

‘Wearing the bright flouro helps start conversations that never usually happen around mental health

‘It reduces that barrier.

‘Those bright colours show we can make it visible and we don’t have to go through it alone.’

The couple donned floral leis as they met surfing and yoga members of the community

Members of the sharing group said the royal couple were relatable, open and honest

Dabriella Quayle, 37, said afterwards: ‘Oh my goodness, they were just so real, so relatable. They shared their own experiences, which was amazing.

‘Harry said seeking help was the best thing he had ever done. He was really open and honest. He said it doesn’t matter who you open up to, they don’t have to be professional. Anyone can be there for you. It could be your best mate or a stranger. You just need to open up to them.’

She added: ‘They talked about the strangeness of their own situation and the lives they lead but that at the end of the day they are just real people. They are just human beings.

‘They said they were just like us in that people say lots of positive things to you and then they say one negative thing, and that’s what gets you down.

‘Meghan said how she did yoga at 4.30 this morning because of the jet lag. She says she is feeling OK, not too bad. They said they hadn’t really had time to settle down and get their heads round thing, and they have another 70 odd engagements to go.’

One member of One Wave said Meghan had a ‘double whammy’ of jet lag due to her pregnancy

Meghan revealed she had been up at 4.30am that morning practicing yoga when she couldn’t get back to sleep

Meghan said yoga was her ‘leveller’, with the couple still having another 70 odd engagements to go

After the circle the royals walked over to a group practising yoga.

Nio Poniatowski, 25, said: ‘Meghan said it was her “leveller”, it’s what keeps her grounded, like surfing does for us. She said it was her escape.’

Chatting with another group of surfers, Harry said he had never waxed a board before, so he and Meghan both had a go.

Surf instructor Sam Schumacher, 31, said the couple both revealed they had surfed, adding: ‘The circle time was great. Two or three of us shared our personal stories.

‘This visit will really raise the profile of what we are trying to do and the fact that mental health doesn’t discriminate.

‘It can affect anyone and that we all need to try and look after each other.

‘I can see the passion in their eyes.’

Trebilco said the couple had been ‘so nice, so friendly’.

One member of the circle said he could ‘see the passion’ for awareness of mental health in the couples’ eyes

Chatting with another group of surfers, Harry said he had never waxed a board before, so he and Meghan both had a go

The royal couple pictured with garlands of flowers, or ‘leis’, dangling around their necks as they walk through the sand

Thousands of well-wishers came out to Sydney’s iconic Bondi Beach to see the royal couple on Friday morning